OMG Entry: Happy Life
by SesameStreetReject
Summary: Entry to the OMG thing. Contains Galex, but also my ideas on how the last series should have gone down. Hope you enjoy. Reject.
1. Chapter 1

OMG

_This first chapter is centred around Alex Price/Drakes life, because I'm trying to do a Galexy story that will also be more about the whole ashes situation._

Alex Price sat at the window of her bedroom watching the rain fall like tears down the glass. She had decided on her ninth birthday that she wanted people to call her 'Alex' from now on, although Evan still insisted on 'Scrap'. Her reasoning was simple, from then on, no one would ever again call her 'Lex', and that would forever remain her parents name for her. After all, she thought, since she had been robbed of any further time with them, she was due a way of keeping them special to her.

Evan White had lost track of time, and before he knew it, Alex had grown up. Ten years ago, he had had no idea what he was letting himself in for, but now that the screaming rows, late night curfews and groundings were over, the horrific guilt of all those years seemed to have ebbed away, to be replaced with only the pride he felt towards the young woman waving from the back of the taxi that was whisking her away to University. And although he'd tried his best to shield her over the years from any further pain, he felt now a great sense of dread fall over him as she set off into the world, no longer with him to protect her from what might lie ahead.

Alex woke with a start. Unlike back home, the noise to bring her back to the world was not the gentle strains of the radio, or the stirrings of her darling daughter, but instead the shrill ring of the telephone. Propping herself up and supporting her hangover-enveloped head, she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Oi Drakey, did I wake you?" Inwardly she cursed the static and inadequacy of eighties phones as his voice seemed to bite through her head. She didn't even have time to think up a reply. "Too bloody bad. Get your lazy, privately educated buttocks over to CID pronto, dear Raymond's landed us in a spot of bother."

"Is this how you treat all the girls mister Hunt?" she said, her voice dripping with acidic sweetness to try and rile him.

"No, I save only my most charming and devastatingly attractive persona for layabout old nags of coppers like your very good self. Who I will be needing around my station sharpish." There was a pause as he drew in breath, and when he next spoke, it was in hushed tones. "Get your genius head where it should be, Bolls. This one is going to be a tough one, and I need you by my side." As the dial tone sounded, she wondered why his last sentence had left her with butterflies in her stomach.

A short taster, worth carrying on? Reject ...


	2. Chapter 2

Evan had been scarred what the future would bring, and it had brought Peter Drake. Alex had met him at a graduation party. She was in her first year, but she had made friends with someone in their last year, and so she was invited. He was cousin to one of the graduates whose birthday it was that night, and so he'd attended. The reason they began to talk was because they were both outsiders; Peter too old and Alex too young. They got talking in one of the quieter areas of the club, because neither of them felt like joining in the celebrations, and at the end of the festivities, exchanged numbers. Peter was working at the local branch of Tesco and so they accidentally (or after she found out this information, on purpose) saw a lot more of each other.

Alex marched up to the giant double doors and pushed, pleased as ever at the commanding entrance she felt they made. Before her was a scene of chaos. Ray was in his usual chair with Chris sitting opposite him, but he was shouting so loudly at his favourite DC that he had gone red in the face. Behind them, Bammo was struggling with an old lady, who was trying desperately to interrupt Ray's monologue. Poirot and Terry were playing catch with a ball of paper over her own and Shazs desk, the owner of which was sat typing and occasionally muttering what sounded like 'Neanderthals'. Gene was leaning against his desk, phone in hand, frown on face.

Momentarily she closed her eyes, and whispered, as she had always done in times of trouble, "There's no place like home." Which was followed by, "Fuck it," since the scene hadn't changed when she opened her eyes.

"Excuse me!" The squad room fell quiet, mainly because Alex had used the voice her mother had told her off in whenever she'd been naughty as a child. "What the hell is going on here? Poirot and Terry, start acting like adults this minute, give me that ball and apologise to Shaz for getting paper all over her desk." The ball was returned and sheepish apologies were muttered, and so with Shaz beaming at her, she continued. "Bammo, get this lady into an interview room, and make her a cup of tea. In fact, make me a cup of tea too. Ray, go and calm yourself in the kitchen. Chris, explain what's going on."

Gene was only half listening to the wittering's of his Super. He was more intent on watching Bolly mother the rest of CID right in front of his eyes. He could have sorted the mess out before she got here, but he knew the team would prefer her to guide them instead of him to shout at them. Plus, he knew she liked it. Even when they were rowing, there was not as much of a spark as when she was chiding or comforting the squad. She had mentioned a daughter once or twice, but never elaborated, and so whenever she 'mothered' them, he saw a kind of grief in her. For most men, this would have been a deterrent, but everything about his Bolly just fascinated Gene, including her mystery past. He would like to get to know about it someday. But now he was going to go and insult her for being late. Some things would never change.

Thank you for the reviews last time! Sorry it's short, but hopefully updating soon :D Reject ...


	3. Chapter 3

"_Peter, what did you just call me?"_

"_Chill out baby, come on-"_

"_No, no, what did you just call me?"_

"_I just thought I'd try out my new name for you, Lex."_

"So, finally gracing us with your annoying presence, detective inspector?"

"Well, someone had to control this lot since their DCI seems incapable."

"I would remind you that I am your bloody superior!"

"And I will remind you that this is CID, not a damn classroom! How are we supposed to solve this 'tough one'," here Gene bristled and muttered something that sounded like 'again with the finger-waggling', "when the team are behaving like… well, the team?"

"Maybe if you'd dragged your sorry arse out of bed on time we would have the case fully under way and be halfway to solving it!"

"Maybe if someone hadn't got me so drunk last night that I have only blurred recollections-"

"Oi-oi-"

"Grow up Carling!"

"Enough!"

She was thoroughly pissed, but he just leant against his office doorway, smirking in the way he knew riled her even more. She took a moment to collect herself, drawing herself up and folding her arms.

"So, this case? What has Ray done this time?"

"Hey! You said it wasn't my fault!" Ray turned to Gene in an accusatory fashion.

"I did DI 'dipshit'. That is what I said. But on contrer, what I think is that it is completely and utterly your fault."

"You better explain what this case is about then, and by the way it's 'au contraire', not 'on contrer'. And its French," Alex said, smirking back at him.

"Shit. Well, you know that old dear that was in here earlier?" Alex nodded. "Well said biddy may or may not have been attacked by a mugger, whose fingerprints match those of the Clifton girls' murderer."

"Wait, wait, slow down, what do you mean by could have been?"

"I mean that there were two of the daft cows out for a walk when one was mugged. Dearest Raymond does not remember which lady it was, nor do the said ladies, except that one claims it was a teenager when Ray and the other one say it was a middle aged man. So basically, the ID of the murderer is still un-fucking-known."

Alex looked at Ray, who was twiddling his thumbs, trying not to show his humiliation.

"At least we have his fingerprints to connect him to the other case. And Gene, we all make mistakes."

"No we bloody don't!"

"Gene!"

"Really Bolls, when was the last time one of us; me, you and Chris… actually, just me and you, made a mistake of this level?"

"Well, admittedly it may have been a long time since-"

"Exactly, yet this sorry excuse for a copper still carries the same rank as you!" For a moment, Alex was extremely flattered, before she caught sight of Ray's morose expression.

"Why are you being so hard on Ray? Come on Gene, he just made a little mistake, stop being such a self-righteous pig. Why don't we just get on with the case, yes?"

Gene looked her levelly in the eyes, and he found himself lost for a moment. Three years or so ago, he would have been annoyed by having a woman as a deputy, but right now it felt so… so right. Instead of trying to rally his team and prove himself as DCI, he found himself going out of his way to get her riled, because it was then, when she was spitting fire, that he could see the real spark in her, and it was just that that made him want to reach out and-

"Yeah, why not."

So, whadya think? Next chapter we will have the case fully explained AND some lovely Gene-Genie interviewing *cough* violence *cough*


	4. Chapter 4

"_Pete, I've got something I have to tell you."_

"_What is it baby?"_

"_I'm pregnant."_

"_Oh shit!"_

_..._

The Clifton girls' was a particularly nasty case. The team had been on it for the best part of a week, and they had absolutely no leads what so ever. The Clifton's were sisters aged sixteen and nineteen, who'd been walking home after a night out together when they were both murdered in the street leading to their house. Both girls' necks were slit, which was the cause of death, but forensic evidence showed that they had both been beaten and stabbed in other areas before the final cuts. Their bags and purses were taken.  
>What was the real twisted knife in this particular case was that this night had been the first either had had out for about six months. A year ago, their mother had another baby, which couldn't have been their fathers since he had taken steps to avoid that very event. The marriage had been close to the edge, until one night, their mother just upped and left, leaving her daughters and ex-husband to bring up her son. Although he was struggling with the baby and his wife's betrayal, their dad, Paul Clifton, had decided that as it was the younger of the pair, Alison's birthday, that they should go out and spend the night like most people of their age.<br>The trouble was, neither of the girls' had had much of a social life since little Zackary was born, plus they were studious types so had few enemies, or friends come to that. The puzzling thing was that when Alison's blood work had come back, they'd found traces of amphetamines in it, but when Gene had 'asked' around his informants, no one had any idea where they'd got it. Alex had a theory that someone may have tried to spike Alisons drink, but there was no evidence to support that.

...

After two hours of pouring over the women's statements, Gene had sent Ray and Chris out to try and find out if anyone else had witnessed the mugging. That left just him, Alex and Shaz in the office. When they finally agreed that there was nothing more to do but to wait for the 'wonder twats' to return, Alex and Gene struck up conversation whilst Shaz read her magazine in the kitchen.

"This is a very nasty case," Gene said, standing across from her, legs apart and hands in pockets. "I'd like to fasten that bastard to the front of the Quattro and drive it into a wall repeatedly. Even the slight destruction of the car would be worth it."

"Those poor girls, and their poor father," Alex replied, leaning against her desk, arms drawn around her in almost a protective manner.

"Yeah, unfortunate sod. Now he has to bring up some other blokes child all on this tod, unless he cans it to the orphanage."

"No, no, he said last time didn't he, about how the house would be too empty without Zachary to bare."

"Yeah, that's what he's saying now, but what about in a months time when he hasn't slept and the moneys running short? An what about when he's older, and the little twerp does something. If it was his own, he'd deal with it, but this is some other bastard-who-had-his-way-with-his-wife's bastard child."

"You don't have a very high opinion of him then."

"Even the most liberal-fairy-fairness-bollocksing twat of us would have trouble. I mean, sometimes parents with their own kids get close to giving them a whollop. My Ma used to say that when I was teething she felt like smothering me."

"That's because teething is horrific. I remember with Molly," here she had a distant look in her eyes, and Gene felt almost warm inside, because here he was getting a rare glimpse into her past which had so far evaded him, almost as if she were letting him in on some secret, "I was up all night most nights. Even when they're quiet, you still can't get the screaming out of your head-"

"Guv, come in." Gene's radio buzzed from his office, and he reluctantly dragged himself to answer it.

"What do you want now?"

"We've got another witness."

"You took your time."

"He was reluctant wasn't he? Gave Chris a knock in the stomach. Still crouching slightly, the fairy. But you'll never guess who it is."

"Go on."

"Wally Goode."

...

Wally Goode was a short man, about four foot eleven, dressed immaculately in a velvet waistcoat, but sporting a black eye and muddy complexion. His quick eyes darted around the interview room, and he kept running a hand through the ginger fuzz that passed for hair.  
>He managed to smile when Gene entered, but his pale face gave him away. As Alex sat down opposite him, his grin widened.<br>"I heard you'd got yourself a bit of fancy skirt. Why didn't you send her to get me, would have come a lot quieter then." He leaned across the table towards her, eyebrows raised until Gene kicked the table which sent him backwards into his chair.  
>"I was hoping I wouldn't be seeing you for a very long time, but since your rodent originated, foul, inbred existence has decided to grace my fine station, I suggest you start talking before I get you acquainted with that wall over there."<br>"Ahh, Mr Hunt, you know me, I'm not one to talk where there's no… incentive," he said, rubbing his fingers together in clarification. In one swift movement, Gene was around the desk, and had Wally stood up by the scruff of his neck.  
>"Don't say I didn't warn you. Wall meet scum, scum meet wall," and with that he banged Wally's head against the wall, then let him drop into his seat again. All the while, Alex sat with her eyes closed, until she felt Gene sit down beside her. Then she leant forward.<br>"Mr Goode, where were you between eight o'clock and eight thirty this morning?"  
>"I dunno, do I darling. I ain't usually up until I've had time to sober up."<br>Gene leant forward. "Would you like _me _to repeat the question?"  
>"Alright alright I was out getting some fags. That a crime?"<br>"No, but you being able to afford fags on your lifestyle is."  
>"Mr Goode-"<br>"Call me Wally, darling."  
>"Mr Goode," Alex continued, and Gene started to smirk beside her, "we have reason to believe that you witnessed a mugging on Trevor Street."<br>"Yeah, I did."  
>"Then why didn't you come forward, you bastard?"<br>"Because I didn't see who it was."  
>"Mr Goode, you are lying. I can tell. When you responded, you didn't look me in the eye, you shifted in your seat and you fidgeted. All classic signs of someone who is hiding the truth."<br>"You're a clever little bitch aren't you?"  
>"OI!" The flat of Gene's hand connected with the back of Wally's head, so that he reeled off a string of swear words.<br>"Why are you so fucking touchy, you slipping her one?" This time, Alex's heel came down on his toe before Gene could even move.  
>"Now Mr Goode, you are going to tell us everything that you saw," Alex said coolly, whilst Wally gripped his toe in pain and Gene sat there stunned.<br>"Alright, I saw this bloke snatch the old biddy's handbag, but I didn't see who it were."  
>"I may not be a clever bitch, but even I know you're lying now," Gene said, having recovered.<br>"I didn't see the guys face!"  
>"My mistake, I don't think you fully got to know Wall-"<br>"I can't tell you, they'll kill me!"  
>"Only if I haven't first!"<br>"I've been clean for a month now-"  
>"Bullshit."<br>"No, I have. It's for this girl see, we been going steady for a while. If I tell you who it was, they'll kill me, and her too! I got my woman to think about. You understand that, don't you, Mr Hunt?" Wally looked knowingly between the pair. Gene sat there for a minute or two, before replying in barely a whisper.  
>"Go on then, get out."<p>

...

There was quiet in the interview room for a good few minutes. In that time, Gene could almost feel the anger coming in waves off of Alex.  
>"What the bloody hell was that about?"<br>"I don't know what you're talking about."  
>"You just let him go, just like that."<br>"So?"  
>"He was the only bloody lead we've had for a week! Or have you forgotten the two young girls that were murdered? Have you forgotten the 'poor old childless sod'? The Hunt I thought I knew would never have let a witness go like that because you empathise about his woman being threatened-"<br>"It's not empathy Bolls."  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"I'll forgive you because you spent your earlier years in an ivory bloody tower attending Sunday school and saying your prayers. But to those of us that are fluent in Scum, that wasn't bloody empathy."  
>"Well, maybe you should translate then."<br>"There is no bloody woman, if there were, one she'd have to have fallen from the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, but two, he would've been a lot more desperate than that. Which leads me to think that that little anecdote was more than a story." Alex still looked confused, so Gene turned in his seat to face her. "Bolls, that there was not an attempt to gain sympathy, that was a threat."  
>"To who?"<br>"To me."  
>"What the hell has he got on you to be threatening you with…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked him in the eye, disbelief all over her face. He simply nodded. "Me?"<p>

Dun dun duh! Dramatic much? NB, I'm not very familiar with London, so forgive me on this one if the geography is a bit out. Reject ...


	5. Chapter 5

"_Look, I'm just a bit freaked out my all this babe."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I… I just… this is a big thing, I mean, I'm going to be a father!"_

"_And so to come to terms with this life changing event, you went out and got smashed, instead of talking it through with your wife? I thought we could talk about things."_

"_Maybe we're not as close as you think."_

"_So what else have we 'not been talking about' then?"_

_..._

Since the Goode interview, Alex had been avoiding Gene. It wasn't because she was scared at being threatened, or because she was still angry at him, but instead she felt confused. There were so many questions buzzing around in her head at the moment. Why would Goode threaten Gene with her? Did he think they were more than colleagues? And if so, what would give him that impression? She had to admit, she felt closer to Gene than she had ever to any of her previous bosses, but surely it was just friendship? Unless… Now she came to think of it, at the time it hadn't been a big thing. Waking from her hospital bed to Gene stood next to her, she had assumed he was there partly out of guilt, partly out of wanting to get his name cleared. The nurse who discharged her had mentioned something about him being her most frequent visitor, but in her anxiousness to help him clear his name, she had completely over looked this. There was also the unmistakable feeling she'd had when she first opened her eyes and looked into his. For a second, to her anyway, he seemed relieved, in a way that went beyond the guilt and sentence hanging over him, but she'd later dismissed it as a trick of her all too rested eyes. Did he care about her?  
>And would that really be a bad thing? Before Operation Rose, she would probably have said yes, but now, all that came to mind were the strange fluttering's and warm feelings she'd got whenever he seemed to need her. She was definitely fond of him, but was there something more? Since her visions of 2008 had become infrequent and hard to understand, she had been thinking less about her future, and more about her life here. As soon as that thought circled her brain, she felt a stab of guilt. Molly, how could she not be focusing on Molly? But then again Gene had made her happier than any colleague she'd ever been with-<br>Her musings were interrupted by what Bammo had dubbed 'the Fenchurch East war cry';  
>"Oi you lazy lot, let's fire up the bloody Quattro! It seems our Mr Clifton has had a little night time visit from some pesky little burgling shites!"<p>

...

Technically it wasn't a robbery, because nothing was taken. However, it had taken Mr Clifton nearly two hours to establish that fact, as the whole house had been trashed. He'd come back from his mother in-laws to find everything turned upside-down.  
>Standing amongst the wreckage, he seemed an almost shrunken man. Alex told a PC to take him to the station and make him a cup of tea, before joining Gene in the lounge. He was picking through the remnants of the room, and when he felt her presence, he looked up, the tension between them after this morning's interview was almost palpable.<br>"Bastards." Ray's voice startled her, but she hid it by pretending to stumble on a loose floorboard. "The man lost his girls, and now his home has been ransacked. Why though?"  
>"Threat?" Chris said from the kitchen, uncharacteristically putting a suggestion forward.<br>"Could be. Or they were looking for something," Alex said, drawing a sceptical look from Gene.  
>"Nah, this is a warning, 'we know where you live.'"<br>"Well, think about it? Why else would all the draws, cupboards and storage spaces be rooted through? If you notice as well, the things on the mantelpiece just look like they've been slightly rearranged, as if gone through. Whoever did this was searching for something, and they either found it, it's not here, or it's still here."  
>"Could be Bolls, but before we can be more certain, I'm still betting it's a warning. I think Mr. Clifton ent telling us something." Alex sighed and went into the kitchen. Ray followed, but went out further into the back garden, taking a fag from his pocket. She wasn't really paying attention, but she saw him, out of the corner of her vision, turn back towards the house, look upwards and start to frown.<br>"Ma'am, I think you may be right about that searching thing." The rest of the team joined him on the lawn. On the back of the house, painted in what looked like red spray paint were the words 'Where Is It? We'll be Back'.  
>"How the fuck did plonk miss this?"<p>

There you go! Next chapter coming soon. Please tell me what you think. Reject ...


	6. Chapter 6

_"Oh my god! What do you want me to do! I tried okay?"_  
><em>"For fuck's sake Peter, we need that income! How else are we supposed to support a child when I'm on maternity leave?"<em>  
><em>"I don't know! All I know is I can't work there. My boss is an idiot! I am so much better than him, and yet I'm inferior to him!"<em>  
><em>"Well, 'suck it up' then! I can't always provide for us and you need to start taking your responsibility seriously."<em>  
><em>"I will. Once you start taking my needs and wishes seriously."<em>

...

The rest of the team were pouring over the receipts found on the property and trying to match them with most of the items when Alex finally summoned the courage to talk to Gene. He was in his office looking over some paper work when she entered.  
>"I might as well not have a door." Sarcastically, she stepped back and rapped on the glass twice. "Bugger off and do some work." When she didn't leave, he looked up, and saw she was about to speak. Fearing one of her lectures, he quickly diverted her. "So someone breaks into the house, leaves a message after they can't find whatever they were looking for. What do they do next?"<br>"What, you mean the people who did this? Well… I suppose I'd check other places where whoever had 'it' frequented."  
>"Hmm… that doesn't help us. We don't know which of the Clifton's had 'it', though I think we are safe in thinking it wasn't the baby."<br>"It might not have been one of the family, it could be that a friend put something in the house or…" a look of realisation spread across her face. "The Mother. Maybe the killer is after something the mother had, and doesn't know that she's moved away."  
>"Good thinking Bolls. Shaz!" The young officer appeared at the door. "You remember I asked you to try and track Mrs. Clifton? How's that getting on?"<br>"Well, what with all the other stuff you've asked I haven't been able to get very far, although I did read a statement about a robbery in Oxfordshire that matched her description. There was a photo too."  
>"Bring me the report." When the file arrived, Gene flicked through the pages slowly, knowing it would annoy Alex. She just raised an eyebrow that clearly said, 'now? Really?'. "Yep, s'her I reckon. Bolls, get onto the Oxfordshire police and ask for any more info on the robbery to be sent over." The phone rang, and a minute later Gene slammed it back in its cradle. "Righto, Bolls. An informant has just tipped me off about a warehouse owned by one P. Clifton. Seems our friend forgot to mention it."<br>"Which makes you wonder-"  
>"What's in there." Following him to the door, Alex decided to think later about whether finishing each other's sentences was a sign.<p>

…

The warehouse was smaller than most industrial ones, but there were traces of its previous life dotted around. Chains still hung from the ceiling and odd mechanisms created weird shadows in the corners. Alex shivered, wishing for the first time her coat was made of wool and not leather. There was a lack of light in the middle parts of the building, and so she had to use her hand to guide her along.  
>"Anything, Bolls?" Gene's voice sounded from directly above her. He had chosen to view the top floor on the grounds that it looked unstable. Alex had stopped herself pointing out that it was safer for her to be up there since she weighed half as much as him.<br>"Nothing. Wish there was a bloody light switch."  
>"Probably is, you daft cow. Check the walls." Fumbling along, her hand eventually struck something boxlike. Flicking the switch, she felt relieved to see huge panel lights blink into life above her. She turned to the wall, and realised that she must be at the end of the building, because there were no doors. It was odd though, to have the end wall of a building without a window on it. Feeling curious, she knocked on the rough surface, and the noise it made had an echo to it. As if there was another room beyond it.<br>By a mark of coincidence, two events happened simultaneously. First, the lights on the roof, having not been used in a long time, flickered out, plunging her into absolute darkness. Secondly, Gene had that moment discovered a chest of draws upstairs, and thinking it was attached to the wall, yanked at the draws, sending it crashing to the floor. Both the lack of illumination and fright startled Alex so that she lost her balance. Reaching out for the wall, she was met with resistance for about a second, before it crumbled away, letting her fall backwards.  
>The first Gene was aware of it was her scream of terror, followed by the thud of her landing and the crashes which occurred as the rest of the wall fell down. Running downstairs, he switched on the torch he had brought (and not given to her for a laugh), and saw the peculiar sight off his Bolly sat on a large pile of bags filled with white powder, dust and plasterboard coating her and the floor around her whilst she reeled off a list of swearwords that he himself would be proud of.<p>

…

"So let me get this straight, there was a wall that wasn't a wall, and behind it there were a load of Charlie, and you two knocked it down in the dark."  
>"No Christopher, the Lady did all the knocking."<br>"He just stood there bloody laughing."  
>"Knee-jerk reaction, Bolls."<br>The tension between the pair had finally been broken as they had once again resorted to their favourite past time; shouting. The row in the car back to the station had angered Gene enough that he hadn't let her go home to change immediately, but had made her first walk through the station looking like something from a bomb attack. Now that she was changed and shooting daggers at him from her desk, he felt it was about time to discuss what they'd, or rather she'd, found.  
>"So, Mr C likes a bit of C then."<br>"Doesn't look like it. For one thing, he's never looked like he's on drugs, and for another, the drugs were stored at his warehouse which indicates he is either a dealer or in the dealing business."  
>"In the business."<br>"Well, he could just be the deliverer, or his job could be just plainly to store it."  
>"Either way, he's going to have to answer some more questions."<br>"Please, Gene, don't be too hard on him. Remember, regardless of what we've found, he's still the man whose house was ransacked and whose daughters were murdered."  
>"I'll try. Unless I think he's lying. In which case, I won't try at all."<p>

I told you it would be soon! I've got the writing bug! Reject ...


	7. Chapter 7

"_Why? What is wrong with you!"  
>"I'm sorry! It was a mistake, honestly! She meant nothing to me, she was nothing compared to yo- …babe? Are you okay?"<br>"Oh God, not now."  
>"What, what's going on?"<br>"I think… I think the baby's coming."_

…

When Gene came back from the interview room, he felt uneasy. Mr Clifton had profusely denied having any knowledge of even the warehouse, let alone the drugs. He'd almost been in tears, and kept asking Gene why they weren't busy trying to find his daughter's killer. Gene hadn't had the heart to press him, and so sent him on his way. Was he going soft? If he was, he knew exactly who was behind it.  
>He burst through the CID doors and instantly found her with his eyes. She was sat on Shaz's desk, and even with her back turned to him, he could tell she was laughing. He felt the inexplicable erge to smile too. 'Get a grip son'. It was only when he mentally shook himself that he noticed Ray watching him. His eyebrows were raised, and he was mouthing something that looked like 'av you ad that?'.<br>"No Ray, I have not." The whole room looked round at him, and Drake almost fell off her perch as she swivelled.  
>"How did it go?" she asked, regaining her balance.<br>"Didn't own up, and I don't think it were him." He noticed that although Chris and Ray were looking at each other questioningly, she just nodded, as if she trusted his judgement.  
>"Okay then. That probably means that someone has put the warehouse in his name as a cover up, so we need to see if Mr Clifton has any innocent links to the drugs world."<br>"But Ma'am, couldn't it just be another P. Clifton."  
>"It's unbloody likely."<br>"Yes, I do agree it is most probably…" She drifted off, halfway through her sentence, and her eyes glazed a bit as if she were working something out.  
>"Er… Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?"<br>"Shut up Christopher, she's shut herself up, this never bloody happens!"  
>"We've been so stupid," she whispered.<br>"Speak fer yourself-"  
>"The wife!" she sadi triumphantly, her eyes perfectly focused. Ray and Chris continued to look confused, but Gene was looking as wonderstruck as Alex.<br>"Pamela Clifton," they said simultaneously, "P. Clifton." Ray cottoned on now, and started nodding along, but Chris still stood there looking confused. The others waited for a minute before he too smiled in realisation.  
>"Finally, Wonder Chris."<p>

Short little chapter for you there...


	8. Chapter 8

"_Congratulations, Mr Drake. It's a girl."_

…

In a frenzy, files were retrieved, possibilities drawn up on the whiteboard and Gene was on the phone to the Oxfordshire police; the whole team trying to complete the work which Alex kept stating should have been done closer to the time of the murders. Eventually, they all sat around their desks whilst Gene, hands in pockets, quizzed them.  
>"Right then Chris, you were checking up on her previous, any joy?"<br>"Well, not really, I mean it's quite tragic really." Alex threw a pen at Ray when he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she got done for possession, but was let off cos she was pregnant and went into rehab. The drugs apparently had no lasting effect on the foh… ti.. foentus? Feonitus?" He began to sound out the word from the file.  
>"Foetus?" Alex suggested.<br>"No, it definitely starts with an F-O sound-"  
>"So the drugs had no effect on the unborn baby in the womb. Get on with it," Gene said, glaring at Chris.<br>"Yeah, um… that's it," he said, and sat down. Gene put his head in his hands. Eager to avoid a shouting match, Shaz piped up.  
>"I spoke to her previous employers, and they said she was really good, never turned up late, but then three months ago, she resigned completely out of the blue. I asked them what she'd been like, and they said she was very nervous, and when she left, she kept glancing about as if someone were watching."<br>"Three months ago was when she left home."  
>"So maybe she was pressured into leaving. Maybe a drugs deal had gone wrong."<br>"Yes, yes, maybe Bolls. So what did you find out?"  
>"Well, I noticed in her file that her solicitor was none other than Matty Card." Around the room several incoherent profanities were uttered, loudest of all being Gene's 'Scumbag, posh, bastarding lefty'. Alex waited patiently for it to stop before continuing. "I gave him a ring, and he told me that she has not been in contact with him for months, but has not started any divorce proceedings, which is odd."<br>"How so?"  
>"Well, she leaves him three months ago, and is most probably not coming back, and if she wants to start up new somewhere else, the first thing she'd think of is to start proceedings. Unless… unless she wanted to come back…"<br>"Why would she if she wants to leave him?"  
>"Well… okay, I haven't thought this through properly, so bear with me." She threw another pen at Ray for the same reason as last time. "What if, like I said before, a drugs deal went sour, and she has a dealer or a client after her, someone she knows is dangerous. She knows that in that scenario that her husband and children are in danger. So-"<br>"She makes a pretence of running; quits job, leaves hubby-"  
>"But doesn't start proceedings so that if the whole thing blows over, she can come back."<br>"Right, Raymondo, babysit Chris here, and make a phone call to Bastard Card asking whether anyone else has been asking after Mrs Clifton's information."  
>"Why?"<br>"'Cos I think said Bastarding Drug Dealer has asked after Mrs C, and so knew exactly what we do, and so killed the mini-Cliftons."  
>"Why can't the Ma'am do it? I don't want to talk to the pisshead, and she would probably enjoy it an all, since she proper fancies him."<br>"I do not, Ray! I think the man has about as interesting a personality as a boiled leak, not that it is any of your business!"  
>"Touched a nerve, have I?"<br>"Piss off, Carling." Ray was stunned by Gene's interjection. He was never one to defend Alex against taunting, and was usually the one doing it himself. Looking flustered, Genestrode into his office and came out again a second later, carrying his coat.  
>"You and me Bo- Drake," he corrected after a glance in Ray's direction, "shall be rummaging among the shit hole underground of London, trying to find which dealer Mrs C was with."<p>

…

Alex stood around the corner, wishing that Gene had either left her behind or let her sit in the Quattro. Three times now a curb crawler had drawn up to her, but upon flashing her ID, they drove off, wheels squealing. She looked at her watch; it was only half four, these punters were out early. 'Desperate saddos' she thought as the sound of a body hitting a wall could be heard from the alley. Gene shouted something that sounded like 'You tell me now, or this rock will be getting very up close and personal with your other shite producing orifice-' At that point she stopped listening. "Honestly, how does he come up with them," she muttered to herself.  
>"They come to me Bolly, it's a gift." She nearly jumped into him, she was that shocked.<br>"Bloody hell."  
>"What's got you so twitchy?"<br>"I don't know, just something about this case is bothering me."  
>"Would it be the drugs part, or the murder part, or the disappearing wife part?"<br>"Right the first time."  
>"We've handled drugs stuff before."<br>"Yes, but the drugs scene in the UK is growing all the time. And the cases always get dirty. You remember when we uncovered Layton's drug network? He took Shaz hostage."  
>"That was your bloody fault. We won't be doing any bloody stupid cover missions this time."<br>"Well, forgive me for being unsettled given that I myself have already been threatened by a suspect."  
>She'd said it off hand, hoping it would dismiss him, but it had had the opposite effect. Gene stiffened beside her, then turned and spun her around by her shoulders so she was facing him directly.<br>"You listen to me," he said, and his voice was low, quite frightening since he was gripping her upper arms rather tightly. "No one is going to get near you. You hear? Not while I can help it." She looked in his eyes, laced with concern and determination, and she felt an emotion she had not felt since before her parents had died. She felt unexplainably safe, completely untouchable, but there was more than that. She realised that for the first time in a long while, she felt the reassurance of knowing someone she trusted was there to protect her.  
>Their eyes stayed locked for a good few minutes, and they had, without realising it, drawn closer to each other, when Alex felt herself knocked out the way by someone running past. Gene whirled around and yelled; "OI, Johnson, I haven't finished with you yet." He turned back to where Alex was half leaning, half kneeling against the wall. "Here." He helped her up, noticing she was still silent from the shock of his words. "You okay?"<br>"Yes," she said, and a genuinely happy smile spread across her face. "Yes, actually, more than I have been for a-"  
>"Good, because we have scum to catch."<p>

Next chapter will be a big action/plot chapter, so I thought I'd put in that little Galex moment. What do you think?


	9. Chapter 9

"I want to call her Molly. Molly Caroline after my mum and grandmother."  
>"Sure, whatever you want babe."<br>"When we get home, we have to talk. I still haven't made up my mind whether to forgive you or not."  
>"But for two hours at least, we can play at happy families?"<br>"Yes."

…

By the time six o' clock came, and the rest of the team were at Luigi's, they had their answer. They sat in the empty office, facing each other across the gaps between the desks, Gene's bottle of scotch passing back and forth. Finally, the silence was broken.  
>"You were right." Alex looked up, and not trusting herself to speak, she gave him a puzzled look. "There is something messed up about his case." She nodded, but still didn't speak. "Of all the drug dealing pieces of shit in this miserable city, it's them. We can't continue our investigation. The drugs squad would kill us." She found her voice.<br>"Since when does Gene Hunt drop a case on another department's say so?"  
>"Since said case involves Mark Scalzi." Her eyes dropped to the floor. During her time at University, she'd studied the case of Scalzi, since it had been a part of the criminology section of her degree. Scalzi had been head of multiple drugs rings in three cities, but they weren't discovered until the 90s. Right now, he would have only a fraction of his future empire, but would still be a force to reckon with. He was not caught until 96, and so she knew if they went after him, they wouldn't catch him. They would just risk their lives unnecessarily.<br>The surprising thing was that Gene had heard of him. Maybe they'd crossed paths before. Either way, she could tell he was just as scared as she was.  
>"We need to inform Drugs. They always need as much as they can throw at drug lords so that anything can stick. Let's just hope Mrs C didn't end up like her daughters."<br>"You say that Bolls, but it's a bit too late to run to Drugs. If we drop this case it will look suspicious. Mark'll know someone else is onto him, could completely jeopardise Drugs operation."  
>"But we can't keep on this. We would put ourselves in too much danger. Scalzi is a viscous thug, and he'll leave a trail of bodies over decades before he's caught." She said the last part without thinking.<br>"You know, someday you're going to have to tell me how you could know that."  
>"I really don't." They shared another intense stare.<br>"This is just like old times."  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"You and me Bolls, working to fight the scum, whilst Twat, Dipshit and Dipshits Girlfriend-"  
>"Ex-girlfriend-"<br>"Sit boozing it up across the road. I missed it."  
>"Me too," she said, and as she said it, she reached across and took his hand. He looked down at their fingers, running a thumb over her knuckles. "Do we tell them?"<br>"Tell us what?" Neither had noticed the other three stood in the doorway. For a moment, they sat still like naughty school kids, before Alex took her hand back and folded her arms, whilst Gene sprang up, hands in pockets.  
>"Creeping around CID? You really are taking being detectives too seriously."<br>"What aren't you telling us?" The last person anyone had expected the outburst to come from was Shaz. She shuffled her feet nervously after realising what she'd just said, and added quietly; "Guv, Ma'am?"  
>"It's nothing to worry about."<br>"It's everything to worry about Bolly, but it's none of you three that will be doing the worrying."  
>"Is it to do with the case?"<br>"Are you two…?"  
>"Ray!"<br>"What, you were holding hands…"  
>"Christopher, you are, for maybe the first time in your life, right. It is the case."<br>"Well?"  
>"Look, I appreciate that you don't want to have your senior officers keeping information from you, but trust us, it's safer for you if you don't know. The less people we involve-"<br>"I'm the same rank as you! I should be told whatever information you know!"  
>"You were only made DI because no one who knew you well enough were there to have the bloke who suggested it sectioned."<br>"And where were you two? You call me immature and incompetent, but at least I didn't land another officer in hospital because of a little bitch fight-"  
>"SHUT UP!" Chris stood between the four officers, his hands raised. "What the fuck are we doing? We are a team, let's bloody act like one!" He turned on Gene. "Guv, look, I appreciate you're trying to protect us, but last time you did that bad things happened. What happened in Operation Rose was no one's fault, but maybe if you'd told us sooner, we could have done things differently." No one spoke for a few minutes. Gene was the first to break the silence, looking Chris squarely in the eye.<br>"Fair enough Christopher, though that was one hell of a poncy speech, I may have to buy you a drink after all this is over." He exchanged a brief glance with Alex, before telling the others all that they knew. Chris and Ray had no idea who Scalzi was, but Shaz had grown up hearing his name, and was suitably shocked. Alex had assumed that if Gene knew about Scalzi, Chris and Ray would, but since they didn't, she concluded they must have met outside of Gene's work. She would have to ask him about that sometime.

…

They were all agreed. They would continue the case as long as they were all safe, but at the first sign of trouble, they would pass the case onto the Drug's Squad. They had no idea of how much things were about to get out of control.

...

Next instalment will head more in the direction of the plot (sorry) but we're heading towards Galex Town (I promise)


	10. Chapter 10

"_She's your daughter, Pete, you have to take some responsibility over her!"  
>"I'm trying, don't you think I'm trying?"<br>"Of course you're trying, just not hard enough!"  
>"Shut up! Fuck this, I'm done here. I'm done."<em>

…

The next morning they all came in looking paler than usual. The tension was unbearable, and so Gene set up the morning briefing with most of the lesser members of CID still not having arrived.  
>"Right, so how are we going to go about catching this bastard?"<br>"Well, undercover is usually the best way to infiltrate drugs rings. If we get someone close to him, he might confess."  
>"Takes too much time. Plus we don't know how much Scalzi knows about us. I mean, whose face will he recognise? And it's probable he already knows we are onto him…"<br>"So first step is finding out how much he knows about us."  
>"Yes, Bolly, but how do you propose we do that?"<br>"Break in?"  
>"Maybe. It wouldn't be simple, he's bound to have security."<br>"We could just ask him."  
>"Oh of course, Christopher, I hadn't thought of that. Let's go do that right now!"<br>"Okay."  
>"Sit down you twat, he was being sarcastic."<br>"Oh."  
>"Well, break in is about the only feasible way."<br>"It is illegal."  
>"Thank you for enlightening us Bolly."<br>"Piss off! I meant, if we're going after Scalzi, we need to do it by the book. Or else he'll use a loop hole."  
>"Yes, but what we get is not necessarily going to be used against him. It's so we know what our next step will be."<br>"Okay. So, shall we set about planning our criminal move?"

…

Gene had pulled the files from Drugs in a similar style to what they were planning, and so they knew the layout of Scalzi's headquarters. They also had all the security information. That was how Alex found herself squeezing through a window into the basement of Scalzi's HQ. She had gone in head first to deprive Gene the view from the other way round, and so found it difficult to land in a dignified fashion. Only the thought of the two security guards stopped her from yelping as she felt herself slide forwards towards the black room. Fortunately, Gene was stood there ready, having anticipated her inability to climb. She fell straight into his arms.  
>"Honestly, Lady B, it's almost as if you've never broken into a house before."<br>"Funny thing that, you'd think in my line of work it would be a frequent past time."  
>"Shut up, we don't want to be heard. We've got about two minutes to get up the stairs to the bathroom."<br>"Well, let's go then."  
>A minute later, they were stood in the pale bathroom, lit up by the full moon. Footsteps were making their way along the landing outside, so close that they felt they had to hold their breath to remain undetected. Gene had his eyes on his watch, and as soon as the footfalls had receded, he signalled for her to go. Thinking of how this sneaking around reminded her of her teenage years, she kept to the side of the corridor, before creeping into the second room down. The walls were lined with filing cabinets.<br>"This is it."  
>"How long have we got?"<br>"Five minutes." They began at opposite ends of the room, searching through the files in a frantic yet thorough way. Gene's watch ticked steadily towards the end of their time, but they still hadn't found anything. With one minute to go, and on her final cabinet, Alex's fingers traced a name on a file that mad her stomach turn.  
>"Gene!" she whispered.<br>"What, you got something?"  
>"Yeah. Look at this." He stared at the name.<br>"That don't make no sense."  
>"What would Viv have to do with Scalzi?"<br>"Just look at the information. None of it's about him. It's all about us."  
>"I don't believe it. Viv James is not a mole."<br>"Well, well, well." The lights went on, and they spun around, fear making their hearts thud weirdly in their chests. "Hunt, and his bitch." Wally Goode stood in the doorway, his security uniform gleaming.  
>"You work here?"<br>"Of course I do. Everyone does. Even one of your own."  
>"You didn't just witness that mugging. You were there to make sure it happened. What did that old lady have to do with any of this."<br>"Smart your bitch, ent she? That old biddie was Dear Mrs C's step mum, you really haven't done much research have you? And now, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to hand you over to Mr Scalzi. Shame really, you two were so close to getting out of here."  
>"Too close," said Gene, and he dived forward towards Goode, hitting him in the face as he went. Wally fell down, but Alex's arm under his meant Gene didn't, and they made a run for it. Out of the house, they saw a group of men headed towards the car that Chris, Ray and Shaz were in, which was reversing towards the end of the street. The pair ran to the Quattro, and it was already turned and pointed in the other direction before the guards cottoned on. They sped away.<br>On the journey back to Luigi's, neither of them said a word. They wove in and out of alleys just in case they were followed, and eventually they made it to the dimly lit trattoria. The other three were at the bar, Ray smoking despite Luigi's discomfort (he would never trust Ray and fire again), and Chris had his arm around Shaz, who looked a little shaken. As they entered, she broke free to hug Alex.  
>"We thought something terrible had happened."<br>"It almost did. Wally Goode was a security guard, and he found us riffling through the files. We only got away because Gene punched him."  
>"Nice one."<br>"Thanks, Raymondo."  
>"So what did you find out?"<br>"It's not good news."  
>"Oh God, they know everything don't they?"<br>"We don't know how much they know because we only flicked through the file before scarpering."  
>"Actually.."<br>"What's that Bolls?" Alex drew the file from behind her leather jacket. Gene grinned, and if his expression had been words, she knew he would have said 'that's my girl'.  
>"Brill Ma'am."<br>"No, it's not. Just take a look at it." As they read, the other's faces' turned gloomier and dark. It was clear that Viv was not going to be the popular Skip they all knew any longer.  
>"The bastard. Have you seen what he's done? He's copied down all the stuff from our personal files. Look here, he's even got where I started out in the force."<br>"That's my mum's address!"  
>"Jesus, have you seen what he's got on the Guv-"<br>"What? Give that file here Skelton!" Gene perused the page with a frown, before ripping it out and muttering something that sounded like 'bloody animal rights protesters'. He looked at the next page, and turned to Alex. "Looks like he has nothing on you Bolly. Only a foot note saying where you live. No previous history or anything. Must have not been able to pull your file."  
>"No, her file's empty too." Surprised, she rounded on Ray.<br>"Have you been reading my personal file, Carling?"  
>"Well, yeah, I did when you arrived. I was trying to get a reason to have you sacked, cos I didn't like you. Didn't like you <em>then<em>," he added, seeing her face cloud over.  
>"What, you mean to say Bolly's file is one hundred per cent empty?"<br>"Yeah. At the time I thought it was probably because you were undercover trying to bring down the department, or you were a spook or something." Gene was glaring at Alex in a way that said plainer than words that this revelation had eroded a great amount of his trust in her.  
>"Hold on second, you really think I'm a D&amp;C operative? When I've been here for three years?"<br>"Well, what other explanation is there? Are you a spook?"  
>"No!"<br>"Have you ever been a spook?"  
>"Well… yes, a long time ago-"<br>"Bloody hell!"  
>"It's not that bigger deal, it was over twelve years ago, and when I left, I left for good."<br>"What did you do then?"  
>"What do you mean what did I do?"<br>"No one leaves the spooks of their own free will. They mess up, get booted out. So what did you do?"  
>"Nothing!"<br>"Bullshit!"  
>"Not that it is any of your business Hunt, but I got told to move on because I got pregnant! They said it was too dangerous for a woman in my condition to work there! And once my maternity leave was over, I went into the Police Force instead, because it would provide a more stable life for Molly."<br>"Then why is your file blank?"  
>"I don't know-"<br>They all heard the car draw up outside.  
>"Right, we split up, less chance of being caught. Go to a relative's house or something, stay out of the way. I'll call you on the radios once it's safe." They ran to the back door and split, running fast in different directions. It was only when she'd reached the tube station that she realised she had nowhere to go. She had no relatives or friends here. She could find a hotel, but Gene had meant for them to stay out of the obvious places. Where could she go? Then she remembered it; the place she used to go as a child. It was a rundown farm next to her god mother's house on the edge of town. Whenever she had visited, it had been empty. It was her only option. She set off towards the train station, too preoccupied with thoughts from the previous conversation to realise she was being followed.<p>

...

So, the gang is split up and Gene doesn't know whether he can trust Alex or not. We all know why her file's empty, but will she be able to tell him? I put i the bit about Alex being a spook because I loved Keeley Hawes in Spooks and I thought it would be cool if Zoe was Alex's younger self.


	11. Chapter 11

"_Evan, Pete's gone, he's just left a note saying he won't be back. All his stuff's gone. Why would he do this to me?"  
>"Hey, hey, Alex, calm down. Everything will be okay, I promise."<em>

…

She got to the Farm at quarter past two in the morning. Her head was hurting from lack of sleep, so she settled down on a pile of hay in the nearby barn and went to sleep. When she woke five hours later, she felt as if someone was watching her. Pretending to still be sleeping, she listened for the tell-tale signs of another person's presence. Sure enough, she heard someone else breathing. Mentally, she calculated the distance to the door, and after she'd readied her nerves, she leapt up and dashed towards it, only to find it was locked. Fearing the worst, she turned around.  
>It was not Scalzi, or Goode, or even someone who looked vaguely like an employee of a drugs lord. Neither was it one of CID, which had been her second guess. It was a short, balding man, wearing a beige anorak and sitting quite placidly on one of the bales. As she looked him up and down, he chuckled.<br>"I thought you might do that."  
>"Who are you?"<br>"Well, I'll tell you this. You've never met me before, but Sam Tyler did when he was here, doing his stint in the past." She was stunned for a moment, then her brain kicked into gear and she realised who he was.  
>"Frank Morgan?"<br>"That's not actually my name, but yes, I am the Frank Morgan Sam met."  
>"You helped him get back home."<br>"I did."  
>"But you told him that you put him there."<br>"I did."  
>"You showed him those graves, made him believe he was from that time."<br>"Yes, that was the practise in those days. Let them think they're from there, in case they come back."  
>"What do you mean, practise?"<br>"Well, we put him there, didn't we? Brought him back."  
>"You? You did this?"<br>"Yes. Let me explain. I am a member of her majesties secret service. I am a member of a program that was started sometime in the future called the 'David Bowie Operation'."  
>"What do you do?"<br>"We look into other areas of crime prevention. Other than the obvious. In 2005 we developed a way of preventing crime… that had been committed some time ago."  
>"You mean to tell me you invented time travel?"<br>"Not really. We invented time travel sort of, only it's conditional."  
>"Meaning?"<br>"We found a way of harnessing the soul when it is at its most vulnerable, i.e when it hangs between the balance of life and death. We also, quite by accident, found a way of sending that sould back through time."  
>"So, how does it work."<br>"We don't know. We know how to do it, but we have absolutely no idea of how it actually works. The bit we do understand is that the subject has to be alive in their original time frame." Alex felt a brief burst of happiness. She was still alive in 2008, something she had had doubts about for some time now. "We've managed to work out that the soul also picks a time frame. You, for example, went back to the year your parents died. Sam Tyler went back to the year his father left."  
>"Why did you do this? Why me?"<br>"You are an ex officer of MI5. You have to understand that the technology can only work in certain conditions, and so we only try it out on ex or current members of the secret service. Sam Tyler worked for MI5 in his twenties, and you were a valuable part of Section D. As to why we do it at all, well the answer is that we might as well. We had the chance to correct crimes in the past, since people like you have the knowledge that could prevent them. You would have just lain comatose for a few days, what good would that have been?"  
>"You're exploiting people who are at their most vulnerable! I was so terrified when I first came here! You have no right to put injured and weak people in that type of situation!"<br>"We thought as an ex-member of the service you'd be willing to serve your country! Besides, we aren't doing any harm, I mean, there are no side effects, except for… well…"  
>"Except for what?"<br>"Except for the fact that the longer you stay here, the slimmer the chances are of you ever waking up. In 2008, your brain activity is lessening and your body is one step away from shutting down."  
>A chill ran through her, and a desire to scream fought itself into her throat. She was numb.<br>"Molly," she gasped. "You've taken me away from her."  
>"We had no idea of these consequences. If we had, we would have chosen someone else, someone with no one left. There's still a chance we can get you back."<br>"If you hadn't… If you'd never meddled in what should never have been meddled in… would I have woken up?"  
>"I'm not sure that wi-"<br>"WOULD I HAVE WOKEN UP?"  
>"Probably." That one word had her on the floor, shaking with sobs. From the corner, a man stepped forward.<br>"You bastard," Gene said, before knocking Morgan out with a punch.

...

Dun dun duh! the truth is out! This was my idea before Series three of how it would end, but then the wirters went and did that awful thing that they called an 'ending'. So, what will happen next?


	12. Chapter 12

"_It's a screwed up world out there Molly, but I can help you if you listen to me."  
>"Evan!"<br>"We'll blow the candles out together Molls!"_

…

Gene stood opposite Alex, and his face was unreadable. She'd stopped crying, and was staring at him, eyes red and blotchy. Finally, he spoke.  
>"So, the great secret to Alex Drake is revealed. You're from the future."<br>"You heard everything?"  
>"Yes. He's not the only one who followed you. I thought it was strange when you didn't turn up at some fancy mansion, but I guess you really don't have any family here."<br>"Do you believe it? That I'm from the future?"  
>"I… I think I do. At least, you really believe it, and it explains your file and everything. I'm not 100% convinced…"<br>"I thought you'd never believe me. Not after Operation Rose, when I told you."  
>"What was I supposed to think?"<br>"I don't know. I've been so scared these past two years. Really scared."  
>"I know. I noticed. I thought you were hiding something, but I never thought… not in a million years."<br>"My daughter… she's there. 2008. I miss her. So much."  
>"What happened? That bloke said you had to be between life and death…"<br>"I was shot. In the head."  
>"Jesus! Why?"<br>"Well… It was… will be Molly's twelfth birthday. I was called to the scene of a hostage situation, and it was Layton, Arthur Layton. He had asked for me specifically. Anyway, things happened, and he got away. I thought he'd run, like a normal criminal, but… he was in the back of my car. He had a gun. Told me to drive to this abandoned boat. He kept rambling on about how I was his key out of the whole thing, and he phoned… I think he phoned my god father, threatened to tell me something about my parents death. Things didn't go to plan, I think he saw that he couldn't use me as a get out. So he… He shot me." As she spoke, she saw it play out in her mind. Gene sat and listened, a frown growing as he started to connect a few dots.  
>"Your parents died, and Layton knew something about it?"<br>"Yes. Oh, this is going to sound crazy."  
>"What is?"<br>"You've met them."  
>"Met who?"<br>"My parents. They died when I was eight, I was brought up by my god father. All these years, I thought it was an attack on them because they were lawyers, but it wasn't. My dad… he killed… wanted to-"  
>"Tim and Caroline Price? No way." She nodded.<br>"My name is Alexandra Jayne Drake, but my maiden name was Price. I married someone called Drake. Kept the name."  
>"So you're… you're that little girl?"<br>"Was. A long time ago."  
>"Jesus. I knew with parents like that she was going to grow up to be something, but I never thought she'd be… well…"<br>"A copper? Quite ironic really. My mother really hated coppers, didn't she. Maybe if they'd survived I would be a politician or something she would have been proud of me. She would have hated what I've turned out as. A single, divorced mother in the Police Force."  
>"Now I know why you were the only person I've ever met that liked her. Apart from Tim and Evan of course. So Evan White brought you up?"<br>"Yeah. Never told me about mum. I made him Molly's god father too."  
>"Tell me, Alex," he said, and he knelt down beside her, taking her hand, "Little Alex Price. Did she have a happy life? She managed to find happiness even when her parents were gone?"<br>"Yes. I suppose. There were bits of it that were tragic; she never really got over her parents, and her husband left her when her daughter was young, but there were also very good parts. She got into Oxford, and loved it. And for the first year of her marriage she was in love, which was wonderful. And even when Pete buggered off, even then she had her… had her beautiful," she was choking on the words now tears spilled from her eyes. "She still had her beautiful, baby girl, who grows up into a really special girl, who's clever and funny, and always manages to make her mother smile." Gene enveloped her in a hug as her crying became painful.  
>"She sounds wonderful. I wish I could meet her."<br>"She would like you, I know it. Because that's another thing. Even when I was lost and confused, stuck in the nineteen bloody eighties with Margaret Thatcher and Culture Club and discovering the Titanic-"  
>"What's that last one?"<br>"Never mind, you'll have to wait until 1985. Anyway, what I was saying was, even then, she managed to find happiness. Even then, she felt safe and protected, and for some reason drawn towards a good man, with a good heart and a good conscience, who may be a dinosaur, and who may not fit in with the PC future and my not be like anyone she's ever felt anything towards before, but he makes her… he makes her feel happy." And even with tears still running down her face, even in a barn that smelled bad with her potential murderer lying a few feet away, even then, she still reached out to take a handful of his suit jacket and pulled him in. The kiss was slow, and clumsy, but three years of anticipation meant that it didn't matter. It was perfect.

...

There we are, the truth is out. What do they do now about Scalzi? And will Alex ever get home?


	13. Chapter 13

They left the barn hand in hand, feeling more together and stronger than they had in a long time. Before leaving, they'd woken Morgan, and he'd told them he had no idea how to get Alex back home, only that they needed to soon. Gene was having an inner turmoil with each step, thinking of how he wanted Alex to be happy, but he wanted her here with him. Then again, as Morgan had said, if she died in 08, she died here. He knew whatever happened in the next few hours, any turn of events would leave him heart broken, and he just hoped that he would know something to ease the pain. Alex had decided that the only way to get back was to fight, because she could see nothing else they could do in their position anyway. They were going to meet Scalzi, head on. Making sure no one was watching, they found their way back to CID, thinking it would be the last place anyone else would look for them. As they entered the office, however, it seemed it was a rather popular hiding place.  
>Ray was stood in the aisle, a hand gun for both hands, and a cigar in his mouth. Chris was loading two other guns whilst winking at Shaz, who was donning a protective vest and winking back. They all cheered when the other two entered the room.<br>"It seems that the others have come to the same conclusion as ourselves, Bolly, although probably for different reasons." Ray felt a sense of déjà vu as he saw that the officers were holding hands. This time though, Gene just looked him squarely in the eye, and nodded.  
>"I knew it! Oi, Chris, you owe me a fiver!"<br>"Aww, Ma'am, I'm really pleased for you!"  
>"You mean that the Guv… and Boss… I mean Ma'am… Guv Boss Ma'am… what?"<br>"Never mind Skelton, we have a scum-catching to be a-planning." He strode into his office to retrieve his favourite gun.  
>"You alright Ma'am? Only you seem a little quiet."<br>"Just nerves, Shaz. This really is a fight for my life."  
>"Brill."<p>

...

This was not what they'd planned. It was meant to be an epic showdown, with them eventually collaring Scalzi. Instead, Chris, Ray and Shaz were crouched behind a crate at the edge of the dockyard, driven so fiercely into cover, they couldn't even fire a pot shot without risking a limb.  
>Alex and Gene had made a mad dash to one of the warehouses containing containers, and were stalking around the right had wall, keeping the footsteps of Scalzi's men in front of them. Gene spotted a ladder on the side of one of the containers, and they made their way upwards, Gene lying down on the roof whilst Alex crouched behind a crate on top of one of the higher containers. They heard voices nearing the exit, and so peered down.<br>Scalzi was talking to his men, gesturing wildly, until one of them said something that made him smile. Gene couldn't tell what he was jabbering about, but Alex, with her grasp of French, paled.  
>"They've got the others," she whispered across, leaning forwards slightly, only to receive a shot that bounce off the edge of the metal container, missing her by inches. With a yelp of fear and surprise, she fell back behind the crate.<br>"HUNT! I know you're up there. You are surrounded. We also have your friends." Risking a peek, Gene saw Chris, Shaz and Ray dragged in by Scalzi's thugs. They looked unharmed, except for the fact they were in imminent danger. Scalzi turned, and made a show of inspecting them, before motioning the one holding Shaz forward. "If you do not hand yourself and your lady friend over, this one will die. First."  
>"You bastard!" Chris was struggling forward, anger clear in his expression even from a distance.<br>"I'm giving you three seconds. One."  
>"Guv, please help me!"<br>"Two."  
>"Gene, we have to do something!" Alex shouted to him, and he saw it in her eyes that this was her moment. This was what she was prepared to do for a member of the team, this was what might, he hoped, get her home. And Alex saw it, reflected back at her from his eyes, and so she used that last second to shout. "I love you Gene!"<br>And then she stood, gun raised, eyes lit up from rage. She looked so powerful and brave, and knowing what was coming, Gene felt his heart shatter into tiny pieces just seeing her like that for one last time. His brave girl. His lioness. His Bolly.  
>Out of nowhere rang out two shots. The first one was Alex's, and those standing below saw it land with perfect precision in Scalzi's head, seeing him drop to the ground like a stone. The guards started to run, as soon as they knew their leader was dead. Shaz dropped to the floor, and was helped up by Chris, grinning at fiding herself unharmed.<br>Gene had watched the second shot, fired by one of the guards. He saw it land, he saw it pierce His Bolly's midriff in the place his bullet had so long ago. He had known this was coming. And yet, that did not stop the pain.  
>Down on the floor, the first they were aware of was a roar, a roar of grief and anger and pain, so much so I was almost a whimper. Their eyes were drawn up to where Alex stood, hand covering her stomach, watching as blood pooled behind her hands and then flowed. Slowly, she fell backwards into Gene's waiting arms. They ran as fast as they could, not one of them believing it until they were up there two, and found Gene rocking Alex's dying form back and forth.<br>"It's okay," he whispered, because her face was contorted, "it's okay, I'm here." Her bloodied han reached up to touch his face, and he leaned in close to hear her final words. In her dying breath, Alex Drake muttered the words:  
>"My Lion, my Guv."<p>

...

DON'T HATE ME! it had to end like this, but there's going to be one more chapter to tie it all up. again, sorry.


	14. Chapter 14

Alex was flying, soaring. She couldn't see, or rather whenever she opened her eyes it was as black as when they were shut. Disorientation set in, and she found herself reaching out, trying desperately to find something in that darkness. She tried shouting different names, first Molly's, then Gene's, then anyone she could think of, from Luigi to her parents. Nothing happened for a while. But just when she was starting to think that she would never find out where she was, sound filled her ears, in the same, slightly eerie way it does when there are no images to go with it. There was beeping, the fuzz of voices, all interfering with each other so that none were clear. Some were growing louder, some fading in and out like on a dodgy radio signal. The only thing that was constant was the beeping, so she focused on that. But soon that too started to change. The beat became erratic, and then a different sound took over, one that seemed like an alarm. The voices took on a panicked edge, and in between them she heard one voice that she would recognise anywhere.  
>"Mum!" It wasn't the usual tone Molly used. It was screamed, in a painful howl. The voices were fading, even Molly's, but the beeping was growing louder. It turned suddenly into a continuous drone of noise that the longer it went on for, the more distorted from its original sound it became. It grew until she felt like screaming, and covered her ears, but the noise came from within her head, so there was no blocking it out. Just as it became unbearable, it stopped. And with its termination came a sensation of lightening, almost so she was floating. She felt all heaviness, all associations she'd felt with her physical body slip away, so that no pressure or gravity could have any effect on her. She felt so light, like a ghost, or a soul. Because that's what she was. Alex Drake was dead.<br>She knew she should be crying, it was all over. No Molly, no Gene, no life of any kind, as far as she knew. Nothing. Except for the faint patch of light that grew steadily brighter and closer, as if she was travelling towards it. Which, with the rate of its swelling, seemed to be ferociously fast she realised all too late. Before she even had time to yell, she was enveloped in it, all around her, stinging her eyes so she raised her hands protectively. Then, she had a sensation of dropping, until something struck her feet and the light faded.  
>She was surrounded by desks, all overflowing with half-done paperwork. To her right was a kitchen, to her left, the stationery cupboard. In front, dead ahead, an office, blinds undrawn. There, behind a desk, was him. Or what he was now. She had no idea when this was, but she could tell from the half empty bottle of scotch in his hand, it was quite soon after she had died. Slowly, hardly daring to breath, she stepped into his office. He didn't seem to notice; he was staring at a newspaper cutting on the wall. Beside the customary one of Sam Tyler, there was one headed 'Brave Officer Dies saving her WPC'. Her photo was beneath, the one that Chris had taken during his camera phase, at one of Ray's birthdays. He had caught her halfway between laughing and smiling. They'd all agreed it was the only decent picture Chris had ever taken.<br>"Must be the cheap stuff." His voice re-awoke her, and she turned to see him eyeing her in disbelief. "I'd prefer the pink elephants. Only cos they're less painful, not cos they're any more… beautiful…"  
>"You comparing me to an elephant now, even after I've died."<br>"Some things never change, ey Bolls. Like this, for instance. No matter how much I drink to forget, it only helps me remember the worst of it."  
>"This isn't the drink, Gene. This is me. I don't know how, but it is." And to prove it to him, she reached out her hand. Although they were touching, it was a memory of a touch. He could not feel the sensation of skin on skin that he so longed for, but a trace of pressure, enough to know that it was more than a dream, but not enough to mean that she was alive.<br>"Seeing ghosts. And I thought you were the one with the sci fi dimension. So what are you doing here? Why aren't you with Molly?"  
>"I died in 2008 too."<br>"So… you never made it. All our effort was for nothing?"  
>"No. Never ever for nothing. I went out fighting. I gave myself a chance to hear my daughters voice one last time. And anyway, I was shot. In the head. From short range. And then my soul was sent back to 1981. There was very little chance it would work. But trying… trying made it so much easier for me. Because I know I never gave up on life."<br>"If I ever find that Morgan BASTARD, I'm gonna kill him."  
>"You do realise, if he had never sent me back, that we would never have met? And as much as coming here secured my fate, at least it meant… what I'm trying to say is… my life would have been a lot less colourful, fun… happy ultimately. You helped a troubled woman lead a false, yet undoubtedly happy life for the past three years. And I'm so sorry that it has to end."<br>"Me too," he seemed to steal himself for a minute, and she knew he was going to say something that came from the heart. "I used to think about it. Not when you first came, I only thought about laying you good and proper, hopefully with you keeping your gob shut and all. But, during the Operation Rose years, when we were closer than ever. I thought about asking you, thought about what you'd say, where I take you. You know, couple stuff. I thought about, towards the end… moving in together, going out or staying in, takeaways on the couch, late night telly, cooking, all that boring, every day shit that usually drains the live outa most couples. But I know it would have been good with you. It would have been great. It would have been ordinary, but amazing." She was crying, not in the hysterical way she had in the barn, but singular tears falling slowly down her cheeks.  
>"I always thought I was the one that was good with words. It would have been good."<br>"The best."  
>"Just like we were."<br>"Bolly and the Manc Lion."  
>"Unbreakable. But it was never going to happen. If I'd have lived, I'd have had to choose between you and Molly. And she would have always come first. But you're right. It would have been so good."<br>And since all the words were said, they leaned in. The kiss had none of the reality or feeling that their one's n reality had, but it was still so wonderful.  
>The doors opened, and into the office came Chris, Shaz and Ray, all of whom stopped dead in their tracks.<br>"Bloody Nora! I've gone mad."  
>"If you have so have I."<br>"Me an all."  
>"You're all barking the lot of you," Alex said, as both she and Gene joined them in the aisle.<br>"Ma'am!" Shaz yelled, and she flung her arms around her. "It can't really be you, can it?"  
>"It is, but I'm still dead. I don't know what this is, but I'm pretty sure it's a chance to say goodbye."<br>"Oh God, no! I feel so terrible! You were such a great officer, and you died for me, I should have gone, I didn't deserve to live!"  
>"Shut up Shaz, don't talk nonsense. You are a brilliant copper, and you are young with most of life ahead of you. You go get the future, run at it! Don't let anyone hold you back. And tell him you still love him, for goodness sake!"<br>"Already taken care of, Boss… Ma'am." She turned to Chris, who was grinning at Shaz in a way that she had missed.  
>"He was there for me after everything."<br>"Well, at least that's one good thing to come out of this. You take care of her Chris, and keep being the kind, sensitive guy you are, no matter what Ray calls you."  
>"Oi." He was smiling, thought there were tears in his eyes.<br>"The Great Manly Man Ray Carling, crying?"  
>"Even the strongest of us get upset when someone bloody annoying, but brilliant goes and shuffles on."<br>"Well said, almost anyway. Forget the little mistakes you make, it takes more than them to turn good coppers away. And you are a good copper. So don't let any more army recruitment forms find their way into your hands. Stay where you're needed."  
>While she had been speaking, others had entered the room. None of them had noticed, and they looked around, confused by the faces they did not recognise. Alex was looking around them with a weary smile.<br>"Alex!" It was Evan, the older one. He rushed forward to embrace her. "I am so sorry! If I'd told you about the whole thing sooner, none of this would have happened! You should know, your mother-"  
>"Shh," she said, and she took his hands in hers. "I know."<br>"How? How could you possibly-"  
>"That doesn't matter. All that matters is; I forgive you. You never wanted them dead. And you made up for it, over the years, what with me and Molly, picking me up after everything. I forgive you." They hugged once again, before he moved back amongst the crowd, everything that needed to be said between them said. Out stepped well known friends, but they just hugged, until one person stepped out she had not expected.<br>"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through. For being a shit husband, for leaving you, for leaving Molly. I'm sorry."  
>"It's okay. I can't say I forgive you, but it's not me you need to be apologising to. There's someone more important, who'll need you more than ever now." And at that moment, the group parted, and there she was. They stood staring at each other, until she ran, ran into her arms. Now the real tears were falling, on both accounts; they shook together, both feeling each other's emotions in the hug. All around them, others were crying. Ray was unashamedly bawling, his dignity completely forgotten. Chris was cuddling Shaz and trying to dry his eyes on her jumper. Gene stood in his doorway, a solitary tear making it path down his face. One of the few tears Gene had cried in a long time. Because Gene didn't just cry for anyone. He cried for his Bolly.<br>Eventually, they broke apart. Alex raised her hands to her daughters face for one last time.  
>"Be brave, my baby girl."<br>"I love you Mum."  
>"I love you too. Always."<br>"Forever."  
>And then they all knew, as if they felt it as one, that they should turn. The door to the office was glowing with the light by which Alex had come there. She walked slowly towards it, and saw through the doorway two faces she hadn't seen in 29 years. It was her parents, not the ones she'd seen again in 1981, but the ones she remembered from her earliest memories, when they were the happiest they had ever been. She paused in the doorway, looking back at all the people she loved in one room, spanning through all time barriers.<br>"Goodbye Mum." Her daughter was holding Evan's hand.  
>"Goodbye Molls."<br>"See you little Lady." She looked up, into the eyes of the last person in her life, the only one she could have wanted to see as her last goodbye.  
>"I'll always be here, waiting for you." And with that, she stepped through the door.<p>

...

THE END

Thats how I thought it would End. I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry if their wasn't enough Galex in it for you.


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